The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method and a program storage medium. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and a method for processing information as well as to a storage medium for storing a program implementing the method for use with the apparatus whereby position information is converted to a highly versatile format before being transmitted to a server to be disclosed to and shared by a plurality of portable terminals.
Recent years have witnessed widespread acceptance of systems that allow a plurality of users to share their position information by means of their portable terminals.
There are conventionally two major types of position information sharing system. One is typically made up of users' portable terminals that detect their positions individually by use of a GPS (Global Positioning System) or a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) arrangement and transmit to a dedicated server the detected information reflecting the positions of the terminals. In turn, the server creates dedicated files that bring together the position information sent from the individual portable terminals. Operating their portable terminals, users gain access to the server and share position information acquired from its dedicated files. A position monitoring system that has been offered by Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd., to business people traveling on business is a typical service that employs such a dedicated server.
The other known type of position information sharing system is one which generates files containing position information by utilizing PC software having recourse to map data in such a manner that the files may be exchanged directly between users' portable terminals sharing position information or in a way that one portable terminal may send its position information to another specific terminal for position information sharing purposes. Sony, the present applicant's “Navin' You (trademark)” is a typical PC software product allowing users to share position information among them. The software features a function allowing users to share their position information, and the function is called the party function.
Of the two typical position information sharing systems outlined above, however, the former requires position information to be managed by the dedicated server. That means each user has to enter into a contract authorizing use of the dedicated server. Furthermore, because the position information is managed in a proprietary file format by the server, the information is not versatile enough to be utilized extensively by diverse kinds of portable terminals.
The latter system outlined above has the advantage of allowing users to share their position information directly among them, i.e., without the intervention of a server. In practice, however, much of functional availability of the system is dependent on the type of communication terminal equipment in use. That entails complicated system designs and low performance stability. In addition, each of the users' portable terminals participating in the party function has to be furnished beforehand with dedicated PC software such as “Navin' You” in order to share position information.